Nigeria may not be able to take
delivery of the 12 A-29 Super Tucano aircraft it ordered from the United States
until 2024.
In April, President Muhammadu
Buhari had approved $496 million for the
procurement of the fighter jets to combat Boko Haram insurgency.
But the United States Department of
Defence has just awarded a contract to the Sierra Nevada Corporation to
manufacture the planes for the Nigerian air force (NAF).
The US department of defence said
work will be performed in Jacksonville, Florida, and is expected to be
completed in May 2024.
A defence news portal,
defence.co.za, had reported that the contract was announced on November 28 and
is worth $329m, although the total not-to-exceed amount is approved at $344.7m.
In December 2017, the air force
had received letters of offer and acceptance for the Super Tucano deal.
The deal valued at $593 million,
included Paveway II guided bombs, laser-guided rockets, 12.7 mm ammunition,
unguided bombs and infrared sensors.
Aside the sale of the 12 fighter
jets, the deal includes ground training equipment, mission planning systems,
mission debrief systems, spares, ground support equipment and support services.
The sale of the aircraft had been
stalled by the administration of former US President Barack Obama over
allegations of human rights abuse levelled against the Nigerian military.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com